Dawn LaBeau

Oh, how I love being a woman; that will never change.

Oh, how she loves being a woman.

Each day has its own halcyon routine—albeit quite disorderly in nature—somehow simultaneously brand new yet consistently following the same order as the day before.

She has always held a deeply rooted appreciation for the simpler things in womanhood, like getting ready for the day at the jumbled mess of the bathroom counter with her mother at the beginning of each day and tearing her room apart to find that one pair of pants that she can’t rest without finding.

Oh, how she loves being a woman.

She contains so much joy about the smallest facets of her life: seeing the deer in her backyard in the evening, making appreciation cards for her favorite people, answering all of her Snapchats before bed, getting ready with her friends for whatever the next adventure may be, and watching the new episodes of the same, stupid soap opera with her parents every night.

Her sisters being so much older than her, she’d never had the same type of bond that can be held by siblings closer in age, but they were sisters nonetheless, and that’s all she could have asked for. While she would never give up the dynamic present with her sisters, her best friends serve as that kind of bond; they’re the light of her day, always coming up with some stupid remarks about one another to make fun of one thing or another. She’s watched them grow so much through the years she’s known them, and they’ve watched her grow, too.

Oh, how she loves being a woman.

The late nights of echoing, rambunctious laughter, staying awake until morning watching movies, and doing makeup for no particular reason are the moments that occupy such a large space in her heart, and they always will.

The entire six hours leading up to any school dance are spent together, doing each other’s makeup, helping with hair, listening to music, and getting ready in every way necessary.

Being a woman is a beautiful thing, and she is becoming so cognizant of the nuance and felicity that can be discovered through one’s femininity.

It is so far from any other type of life to be had—it’s an idea that a man could never fully understand in its entirety.

And, through womanhood, she has learned so much.

She has learned that, even with its tribulations and occasional horrors, she loves being a woman.

Oh, how she loves talking for hours upon hours with her mother about drama and love and life while playing cards and watching musicals together.

Oh, how she loves the idea of going into a store with her favorite people and shopping for hours, possibly not even buying anything.

Oh, how she loves driving with her friends with her windows down in the summer, blasting music, and simply being girls.

Oh, how she loves being a woman.